Tag: begin

Tesla is on pace to begin production at its factory in China in the second half of next year, the Shanghai government said Wednesday. Land leveling is basically complete and construction is about to begin, with the factory expected to be put partially into operation in the second half of 2019, according to an official WeChat post from the government. The article described a visit by Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong and Vice Mayor Wu Qing. In mid-October, Tesla officially acquired an 864,885-square meter

Tesla is on pace to begin production at its factory in China in the second half of next year, the Shanghai government said Wednesday.

Land leveling is basically complete and construction is about to begin, with the factory expected to be put partially into operation in the second half of 2019, according to an official WeChat post from the government. The article described a visit by Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong and Vice Mayor Wu Qing.

Tesla did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

In mid-October, Tesla officially acquired an 864,885-square meter plot in Shanghai’s Lingang area for the electric car maker’s first factory outside the U.S.

Elon Musk’s company has also launched an official WeChat account for hiring locals.

Producing in China, the world’s largest market for electric vehicles, would allow Tesla to reduce costs significantly. The company has said it is operating at a 55 percent to 60 percent cost disadvantage with a domestic peer due to ocean transport costs and tariffs.

Troops from North and South Korea began removing some landmines along their heavily fortified border on Monday, the South’s defense ministry said, as part of a pact to reduce tension and build trust on the divided peninsula. Project details were agreed during last month’s summit in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, between its leader, Kim Jong Un, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. There was no immediate confirmation from North Korea that its troops had begun the process. In November 2

Troops from North and South Korea began removing some landmines along their heavily fortified border on Monday, the South’s defense ministry said, as part of a pact to reduce tension and build trust on the divided peninsula.

Project details were agreed during last month’s summit in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, between its leader, Kim Jong Un, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

In a statement, the ministry said the two sides agreed to remove all landmines in the so-called Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjom within the next 20 days, with military engineers performing the hazardous task on the South Korean side.

There was no immediate confirmation from North Korea that its troops had begun the process.

The deal also provides for removal of guard posts and weapons from the JSA to follow the removal of the mines, with the troops remaining there to be left unarmed.

The JSA is the only spot along the 155-mile -long “demilitarized zone” (DMZ) where troops from both Koreas are face to face, and it is also staffed by United Nations troops.

In November 2017, North Korean troops at the JSA shot one of their soldiers defecting to the South five times.

Since then, however, it has been the scene of the first dramatic April summit between Kim and Moon, as well as their second, more low-key meeting, in May.

At the April summit, the two Koreas announced their intention to turn the DMZ — long a symbol of tension and division — into a “peace zone.”

They have already dismantled propaganda loudspeakers and some guard posts along the border.

Demining projects are also set to begin on Monday in Gangwon province in eastern South Korea, to allow teams to search for the remains of soldiers killed in the 1950-1953 Korean War, the ministry added.

More than a million landmines were laid in border areas including the DMZ and the Civilian Control Zone in the South, say demining experts, and civilians and soldiers alike have been killed or injured by them.

In 2015, two South Korean soldiers were maimed by what Seoul said was a North Korean landmine, an accusation the North denied.

President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh will face senators on the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday for the first day of his confirmation hearings. The hearings will begin with opening statements from Kavanaugh and lawmakers, and are expected to last three to four days. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to replace former Justice Anthony Kennedy, who often served as the court’s swing vote. His confirmation by the Senate would likely move the high co

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President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh will face senators on the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday for the first day of his confirmation hearings. The hearings will begin with opening statements from Kavanaugh and lawmakers, and are expected to last three to four days.

Trump nominated Kavanaugh, a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to replace former Justice Anthony Kennedy, who often served as the court’s swing vote. His confirmation by the Senate would likely move the high court to the right and solidify a conservative majority for years to come.

Democrats have vigorously opposed Kavanaugh’s nomination and argued for hearings to be postponed, though the party does not have a clear path to blocking his nomination.

The GOP needs only a simple majority to confirm Trump’s nominee thanks to a rule change last year, and the Senate’s composition narrowly favors them with 50 Republican lawmakers currently serving in the body. Three Democratic senators voted to confirm Trump’s last nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch, to the court. Gorsuch was confirmed by the full senate last April by a vote of 54–45.

Stocks in Europe hovered around the flatline Thursday morning after Beijing implemented new retaliatory tariffs against the United States. China officially retaliated Thursday against fresh duties, worth $16 billion, from the United States. This takes place at a time when officials from both countries meet in Washington to talk trade. Looking across the European benchmark, Sunrise Communications rose 5 percent after reporting second-quarter results and raising its outlook for the year. In politi

Stocks in Europe hovered around the flatline Thursday morning after Beijing implemented new retaliatory tariffs against the United States.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was marginally higher. Tech stocks were the outperformers, continuing the momentum seen on Wall Street. Basic resources and autos dropped 0.4 percent on the back of renewed trade tensions.

China officially retaliated Thursday against fresh duties, worth $16 billion, from the United States. This takes place at a time when officials from both countries meet in Washington to talk trade.

Looking across the European benchmark, Sunrise Communications rose 5 percent after reporting second-quarter results and raising its outlook for the year.

Ryanair shares rose, up by nearly 5 percent. This is after the Irish pilots union Forsa said that an agreement has been reached with the company after a 22-hour session of talks. The dispute centered around issues such as base transfers, promotions and annual leave.

In politics, Chancellor Angela Merkel is reportedly seeking to get a German official at the helm of the European Commission — meaning she will not back her central bank governor, Jens Weidmann, to become the next president of the European Central Bank, Handelsblatt reported.

Thursday’s corporate calendar is thin, but there are plenty of data expected throughout the morning.

The Markit manufacturing and services PMIs for the euro area will be out at 9 a.m. London time; consumer confidence figures are due at 3 p.m. London time and the European Central Bank will publish the latest monetary policy meeting accounts at 12.30 p.m. London time.

The trial of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign boss, began Tuesday, with the defense attempting to shift the blame to Rick Gates — one of the longtime Republican strategist’s former top associates and a key witness for the prosecution. “He got whatever he wanted,” assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye said in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. Asonye said Manafort lived an “extravagant lifestyle,” funded by the “secret income” he was generating. He said Manafort open

The trial of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign boss, began Tuesday, with the defense attempting to shift the blame to Rick Gates — one of the longtime Republican strategist’s former top associates and a key witness for the prosecution.

Yet the prosecution asserted during opening arguments that Manafort “believed the law did not apply to him — not tax law, not banking law” — as he blew massive amounts of cash on real estate and pricey clothes that included a $15,000 jacket “made from an ostrich.”

“He got whatever he wanted,” assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye said in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.

The prosecutor described how Manafort had allegedly earned a whopping $60 million by working for pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine and then stashed that cash in shell companies and offshore bank accounts.

Asonye said Manafort lived an “extravagant lifestyle,” funded by the “secret income” he was generating.

When that cash flow dried up as Manafort’s consulting clients lost power in Ukraine, he began duping banks about the state of his financial position in an effort to win approval for loans, the prosecutor argued.

“He created cash out of thin air,” Asonye said.

He said Manafort opened more than 30 bank accounts in three countries to hide his cash. Manafort, he added, failed to report $15 million in income to the IRS from 2010 to 2014.

Zimbabweans began voting on Monday in the first election since the removal of former president Robert Mugabe, a watershed vote they hope will rid the country of its global pariah status and spark a recovery in its failed economy. The election will see 75-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a long-time Mugabe ally, face 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who is vying to become Zimbabwe’s youngest head of state. Voting started at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will end at 7 p.m. There will

Zimbabweans began voting on Monday in the first election since the removal of former president Robert Mugabe, a watershed vote they hope will rid the country of its global pariah status and spark a recovery in its failed economy.

The election will see 75-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a long-time Mugabe ally, face 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa, a lawyer and pastor who is vying to become Zimbabwe’s youngest head of state.

Voting started at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will end at 7 p.m.

Polls give former intelligence chief Mnangagwa, who took over as president after the army ousted Mugabe in a bloodless coup in November, only a slim lead over Chamisa.

There will be a runoff on Sept. 8 if no candidate wins more than half the votes.

Nicknamed “the Crocodile”, an animal famed in Zimbabwean lore for its stealth and ruthlessness, Mnangagwa has pledged to revive a moribund economy, attract foreign investment and mend racial and tribal divisions.

Chamisa, a charismatic speaker who honed his craft in the courtroom and the pulpit, has won over young and unemployed voters who are frustrated with nearly four decades of Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) rule.

In a surprise intervention on Sunday, Mugabe said he would vote for the opposition, turning on his one-time allies.

Whoever wins will face the mammoth task of putting Zimbabwe back on track after 37 years of Mugabe rule that was tainted by corruption, mismanagement and diplomatic isolation, sending one of Africa’s most promising economies into crisis.

A top-ranking commander of the Iranian special forces issued a direct threat to President Donald Trump over the outcome of war between the two countries. The outburst is seen as a response to Trump’s tweet warning Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to “never, ever” threaten the U.S. The commander then engaged in the sort of language likely to worsen relations between the United States and the Islamic republic. “If you begin the war, we will end the war. The report added that Soleimani derided the U

A top-ranking commander of the Iranian special forces issued a direct threat to President Donald Trump over the outcome of war between the two countries.

Major General Qassim Soleimani, who leads a special forces unit of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, has been quoted as stating that if the U.S. attacks Iran it “will destroy all that you possess.”

The outburst is seen as a response to Trump’s tweet warning Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to “never, ever” threaten the U.S.

According to reports citing the Iranian news agency Tasnim, Soleimani said Thursday that it was “my duty to respond to your threats,” before adding “Talk to me, not to the president (Rouhani). It is not in our president’s dignity to respond to you.”

The commander then engaged in the sort of language likely to worsen relations between the United States and the Islamic republic.

“We are near you, where you can’t even imagine. Come. We are ready.”

“If you begin the war, we will end the war. You know that this war will destroy all that you possess.”

The report added that Soleimani derided the U.S. president for using the language of “night clubs and gambling halls.”

Day 2 of Open Championship to begin with Kevin Kisner in the lead8 Hours AgoCNBC’s Adam Reed reports from the Open Championship in Carnoustie, Scotland, with comment from Michael Robichaud, SVP of global sponsorships for MasterCard.

Facebook will begin removing from its platform false information that is intended to incite violence and other physical harm. “There are certain forms of misinformation that have contributed to physical harm, and we are making a policy change which will enable us to take that type of content down. At the same time, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said the company will not remove false items if the company does not think they contribute to violence or physical harm. Zuckerberg also used an examp

Facebook will begin removing from its platform false information that is intended to incite violence and other physical harm.

“Reducing the distribution of misinformation—rather than removing it outright—strikes the right balance between free expression and a safe and authentic community,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC. “There are certain forms of misinformation that have contributed to physical harm, and we are making a policy change which will enable us to take that type of content down. We will be begin implementing the policy during the coming months.”

Under the new policy, text and image items that are flagged which have been created or shared with the purpose of immediately “contributing to or exacerbating violence or physical harm” will be removed.

Facebook will work with to-be-named outside local and international organizations as well as its own internal image recognition technologies to help spot these types of offensive items. Parties will have to confirm the information is false, and other groups may be asked to weigh in. Although the policy change is upcoming, the company used these principles to remove posts in Sri Lanka alleging Muslims were poisoning food given or sold to Buddhists.

At the same time, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said the company will not remove false items if the company does not think they contribute to violence or physical harm. Instead, the company will de-emphasize the prominence of these items in users’ News Feeds.

In an interview with Recode, Zuckerberg reiterated the company shouldn’t be “in the business of having people at Facebook who are deciding what is true and what isn’t.” But he clarified in certain cases where “divisive information” was maliciously spread the company had a responsibility to step in.

“There are really two core principles at play here,” he said. “There’s giving people a voice, so that people can express their opinions. Then, there’s keeping the community safe, which I think is really important. We’re not gonna let people plan violence or attack each other or do bad things. Within this, those principles have real trade-offs and real tug on each other. In this case, we feel like our responsibility is to prevent hoaxes from going viral and being widely distributed.”

Zuckerberg also used an example of Holocaust deniers as the type of content that Facebook would not ban. Later, he clarified to Recode, “I personally find Holocaust denial deeply offensive, and I absolutely didn’t intend to defend the intent of people who deny that. Our goal with fake news is not to prevent anyone from saying something untrue — but to stop fake news and misinformation spreading across our services.”

Zuckerberg and the company have previously said they want to stay agnostic on what items constitute news. However Facebook’s team has been accused of bias in the past, leading it to create teams to prevent personal opinions from swaying its artificial intelligence systems.

Besides soybeans, China’s new tariffs impact pork, wheat, rice and dairy, as well as a variety of fruit and vegetable products. One in 4 hogs in the U.S. is sold overseas, and the Chinese are the world’s top consumers of pork. Last year, China was the second-largest volume market for American pork, after Mexico. The pork industry still is reeling from 25 percent tariffs China imposed back on April 2. “Pork products into China could start to take an immediate hit,” said David Salmonsen, senior di

Besides soybeans, China’s new tariffs impact pork, wheat, rice and dairy, as well as a variety of fruit and vegetable products. One in 4 hogs in the U.S. is sold overseas, and the Chinese are the world’s top consumers of pork.

“We do feel like we’re getting kicked in the shin and in the elbow all at the same time,” said Joe Steinkamp, who grows soybeans and corn in southern Indiana. “Farmers need that export market, and if we don’t have it then they will suffer and rural communities are going to suffer.”

At about $1.1 billion, mainland China and Hong Kong together are among the top export markets for U.S. pork based on value, according to the U.S. Meat Foundation. Last year, China was the second-largest volume market for American pork, after Mexico.

Experts say by targeting high-value U.S. farm exports such as soybeans and pork with punitive tariffs, China was sending a message to President Donald Trump, since the two farm products are primarily from Midwestern states that helped him win the 2016 election.

“They are clearly designed to hit back at the heartland of America, and raise the costs of agricultural farm exports to China that will reduce consumption in China and force them to look for alternatives,” said Robert Holleyman, a former senior trade official during the Obama administration and now president of C&M International, a Washington consulting firm.

In the case of pork, the retaliation is especially painful for American farmers, and shows just how brutal the trade tussle has become between Beijing and Washington. The pork industry still is reeling from 25 percent tariffs China imposed back on April 2.

“Pork products into China could start to take an immediate hit,” said David Salmonsen, senior director of government relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation’s largest farm organization. “We’ll see how much but they will have a pretty high tariff for getting into that market.

China’s additional levies also apply to various seafood products, including salmon, tuna, shark fins, crab, shrimp and lobster. The U.S. exported more than $1.3 billion worth of seafood to China in 2017, with Maine lobster alone accounting for more than $90 million of that amount last year.